To all Bronze/Silver/Low Gold players: Stop flaming off-meta picks

This season, I have been all the way from the depths of bronze to low Gold and back again, then climbed again, then back in Silver, blah blah. Long story, strange promos, lose streaks, godlike carrying, tilt and demotes and everything.

Something about me: I am an off-meta player. Heavily off-meta. Full AS on-hit ASol jungle. Tank Anivia. AP Gnar. 7AS Kindred builds with no AD. Whatever. I had good matches with these builds, and bad matches as well. Of course, I was flamed a loooot, and I understand. When you see a Vel'Koz building Runaan in your promos, you tend to assume he's just some troll playing with strategies in a ranked game.

But wait. What if he's not? What if he's actually trying something that, despite being not optimal stat-wise, can carry a game?

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: Guys. In low elo (up to G3, I guess), games aren't always carried by picks and meta builds and strong champions. You can pick the highest winrate champion and still lose a game. However, macro play and map control ALWAYS wins games. Who cares if the enemy JG has 400 kills, if they don't have Nexus towers anymore? All you have to do do win is get those sweet towers.

Destroying the Nexus 100% wins your game. Picking Draven with the best burst build can get you fed, but it won't guarantee a victory.

Stop flaming. Start acting like a team, OK? So what if your Viktor mid goes full AP+tank? It doesn't matter if he's not 10/2/10. If he GOT A DAMN TOWER OR MORE with that build, it's OK. He's doing his best, and you should be glad someone's controlling the map rather than hugging the **** outta the Recommended Items Set.

I climbed from S5 to S3 promos with AS Asol jungle in a few hours, and it worked. Why? Because my BOTRK>Rageblade>Kircheis allowed me to melt turrets like butter in a summer afternoon. Start looking at the minimap, not at the items others are building.

I DON'T encourage troll builds, like AP Zed. However, I DO ENCOURAGE players finding a niche build that, despite the odds, it helps them win because maybe they have a stranger playstyle.

My example: had some Plat+ friends tell me that my Kindred build is pure troll. Maybe it is. But again, in low elo, map pressure wins games, not items. Troll or not, I have a 60-70% winrate at SoloQ with this build. Why? Because I mind my own business and push the towers and hit that thicc Nexus, and that full AS build I use is the best for my pushing playstyle. I am not a duelist. I'm just a random turret destroyer and if THAT THING wins my games, I'm OK with my build. B positive people. Learn how to differentiate between trolls and off-meta players who are doing that because that's their winning strategy.

Those are rare, I agree. But when you see one, don't flame him. THX.